Microemulsion-based synthesis and electrochemical evaluation of different nanostructures of LiCoO2 prepared through sacrificial nanowire templates

Abstract

For the first time, we demonstrate the use of a microemulsion reaction to synthesize different nanostructures of LiCoO₂ cathode material. By varying the annealing temperature and time, porous nanowires and nanoparticles of LiCoO₂ are obtained. The electrochemical performances of these different nanostructures obtained under the respective annealing conditions are evaluated. It is shown that nanoparticles formed under the annealing condition of 700 °C, 1.5 h perform the best, delivering an initial capacity of around 135 mA h g⁻¹, which is close to the theoretical capacity of LiCoO₂, 140 mA h g⁻¹. They also exhibit a capacity retention of around 93% by 100 cycles at 0.1 C. Comparisons are made between our LiCoO₂ material obtained under different annealing conditions and those in the literature.